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Justice News

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Northern District of Ohio

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Three Indicted Related To Misuse Of Visa Permits

Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, today announced that a grand jury returned a four-count indictment charging Hamadoun Bacoco Samassekou, age 29, of Parma, Ohio, with three counts of Fraud and Misuse of Visa Permits, Melissa A. Davis, age 23, of Cleveland, Ohio, with two counts of Fraud and Misuse of Visa Permits, and Chella A. Davis, age 21, of Cleveland, Ohio, with one-count of False Statements to federal officers.

The indictment alleges that Hamadoun Bacoco Samassekou, and Melissa A. Davis, knowingly made false statements with respect to an I-130 Petition for Relative Alien by falsely impersonating and representing that Melissa Davis was Samassekeo’s wife.

The indictment further alleges that Samassekou and Melissa A. Davis knowingly made false statements under oath with respect to an interview regarding Samassekou’s immigration status, by falsely personating and representing that she was the wife of Samassekou.

The indictment further alleges that Samassekou made false statements or representations regarding his I-485 Application by answering “No” to a question about whether he knowingly committed any crime of moral turpitude or drug offense.

The indictment further alleges that Chella A. Davis, knowingly made a material false statement to immigration officers by stating that she was never married to Samassekou when in truth and fact she was. If convicted, the defendants’ sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip J. Tripi, and Trial Attorney Richard T. Hamilton, Jr., following investigation by agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.